


Discoveries and Confessions

by ticklishraspberries



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Love Confessions, M/M, Tickling, quidditch practice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 23:07:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29990211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ticklishraspberries/pseuds/ticklishraspberries
Summary: A head-to-head practice match of Quidditch leads to unexpected discoveries and unexpected confessions.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Kudos: 57





	Discoveries and Confessions

It had taken a lot of effort to forgive Draco Malfoy. But hey, when somebody saves your life, you can’t really go back to hating them. Plus, Harry was past petty childhood grudges; war makes you see past those things.

Many, many apologies, and tons of awkward encounters later, Harry had started to consider Draco a friend. And well, maybe just a bit more than a friend.

Malfoy had always been good-looking, Harry had never denied that, but he had aged like a fine wine, and Harry couldn’t help but notice.

He was taller now, taller than Harry, which wasn’t saying much, but not as tall as Ron, which also wasn’t much of a comparison. His jaw and his cheekbones were even sharper and stronger now, and the dark circles beneath his eyes made them shine and appear more blue than grey. And his bright blond hair was no longer slicked back on his head; it fell messily in front of his eyes, like he’d stopped caring. Anyway, what’s the point of looking good when the world thinks you’re a traitor?

Harry couldn’t let Draco pay for his father’s crimes. He testified for Draco and his mother to be pardoned by the Ministry, because he knew they never wanted to be a part of Voldemort’s army. And, he owed both Narcissa and Draco his life; they both lied for him, something they could have been killed for. That was enough for Harry to forgive.

Ron and Hermione took a long time to warm up to Slytherin, and understandably so.

“He talked to me like I was dirt on his shoe,” Hermione said, “and now you want me to forgive him?

“Yeah! And he insulted the three of us since day one. All of a sudden he wants to be all buddy-buddy?” Ron added.

Harry had explained to them that Draco had changed. He couldn’t put it into words really, but there was something about Draco Malfoy that had changed. His eyes were warmer, his voice softer, his demeanor shy and gentle now. Maybe that’s what the war did for him.

It actually turned out the two former enemies had more in common than they would have ever thought. The one thing they could bond over the most was Quidditch. The two Seekers who were used to playing against each other began practicing together, after a year of not being able to play. They went out onto the field just before the sun set, when most students had started going inside for the night.

“That’s so not fair!” Draco cried, staring at the grinning Harry, who proudly held a little gold ball in his hand. “You were distracting me!”

Harry chuckled. “How am I distracting you? With my astounding flying skills, or my charming good looks?” he teased, tilting his broom forward and landing on the ground.

Draco followed him down, pouting, but offered no answer as his feet hit the earth, simply walking towards Harry and crossing his arms over his chest.

“Don’t be such a sore loser!” Harry said, poking a finger into Draco’s side. It was mostly just reflex; that was how him and Ron joked around, so it just felt right to do in the moment.

Draco jerked away from his touch, and Harry was taken aback. He opened his mouth to apologize, before it fully registered in his head what had just happened.

Draco had reacted the same way that Harry did when Ron poked him, which meant…

“Are you ticklish?” Harry blurted out, looking delighted at the discovery.

“No,” Draco replied indignantly, but his normally pale cheeks were flushed pink.

“Are you sure?” Harry asked, smirking as he jabbed his fingers into the Slytherin’s side once again, eliciting a choked back giggle. Harry wasn’t sure what brought out this playful side in him, especially with somebody he wasn’t quite comfortable with yet, all he knew was he was giddy and this was the best discovery he could have made.

“I”m very sure,” Draco insisted, but he began backing away from Harry.

And before Harry even knew what he was doing, he had tackled the blond to the ground, fingers finding his sides, and Draco was laughing within seconds.

It was then that Harry realized he had never heard Draco laugh like that before. He’d heard the occasional chuckle leave his mouth, but this was a free fit of hysterical giggling that Harry never thought could come from him. It was, for lack of a better word, adorable.

“Get off!” Draco whined, kicking his legs but unable to move away from Harry’s tickling fingers. Harry didn’t look heavy, but he was sufficiently keeping the other wizard trapped beneath him.

Unintelligible pleas and curses flew off Dracos’ tongue between his laughter, and Harry couldn’t help but laugh along with him.

“Harry, please!”

That made Harry’s fingers freeze, and Draco flopped back against the Quidditch field, his face red and his hair mussed up, breathing heavily, while Harry sat on top of him. It would look very weird to any bystander who saw them, but thankfully all the students were inside the castle.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard you call me Harry.”

“Well, we’re friends now, aren’t we? I figured we were on a first name basis,” Draco replied.

“Yeah,” Harry said, unable to think of anything else to say.

“Are you gonna get off me now, or..?”

“Oh!” Harry felt his face turning red. “Yeah, sorry,” he said, laying down beside the blond on the grass, looking up at the slowly darkening sky.

They were silent for a moment, until Draco spoke.

“If you had told eleven year old me that I was gonna be having a tickle fight with Harry Potter over a game of Quidditch, he wouldn’t have believed you for a second,” he said, amusement clear in his voice.

“Well, most enemies don’t do that.”

“True.” Another moment of silence. “You know, I never hated you.”

“Really?” Harry asked. “You could have fooled me.”

“I know. But really, I think I was just jealous. You were always the best at everything, and you had friends that loved you, and I thought you could get away with anything,” Draco shrugged.

“Trust me, that ended the second I left Hogwarts.”

“I’m sorry I was so terrible to you.”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s really not.”

“But I forgive you,” Harry insisted, turning onto his side to face the other.

And without warning, Draco leaned forward to press their lips together, before pulling away. “I’m so sorry, I-”

Harry was stunned momentarily, but quickly cut him off by leaning in to kiss him again.

“I’ve been wanting to do that since we were eleven,”’ Draco admitted softly.

Harry grinned. “Well then, let’s make up for lost time.”

War made Harry treasure the little things.

War made Harry forgive Draco Malfoy.

It would take a lot of explaining, but Harry and Draco didn’t care when they walked into the Common Room, hand in hand.

It didn’t take a lot of effort to love Draco Malfoy.


End file.
